Interpreting nervousness as unfriendliness. – “Your nervousness came across as standoffish during our first meeting.” Misreading emotional cues can lead to false impressions. Confusing movie plots due to multitasking. – “I was distracted while watching and completely misunderstood the storyline.”

Meanwhile, hiding the trunk of the body and keeping the arms and legs crossed can be an indicator of unfriendliness, anxiety, and hostility. These are strong body language examples that law enforcement officers are trained to react to.

Factor analysis was conducted on the unfriendliness scale, revealing a three factors structure: communication anxiety, awkward self-presentation, and unpleasantness. In Study 2, we examined how happiness, empathy, and self-esteem, relate to unfriendliness through multiple regression analysis.

Blinking excessively out of anxiety is the mind’s way of saying, “We need to run away. The future looks dangerous”. Other body language cues that support this interpretation are nail-biting and foot or hand tapping. One may also blink excessively when they’re nervous. Nervousness is anxiety in the present moment.

Discover the causes and signs of nervous behavior, and learn effective coping strategies to manage anxiety and build resilience in daily life.